John M. Clayton

John Middleton Clayton (24 July 1796-9 November 1856) was a US Senator from Delaware from 4 March 1829 to 29 December 1836 (succeeding Henry M. Ridgely and preceding Thomas Clayton), from 4 March 1845 to 23 February 1849 (succeeding Richard H. Bayard and preceding John Wales), and from 4 March 1853 to 9 November 1856 (succeeding Presley Spruance and preceding Joseph P. Comegys), and Secretary of State from 8 February 1849 to 22 July 1850 (succeeding James Buchanan and preceding Daniel Webster. He was a National Republican, a Whig, and a Know Nothing.

Biography
John Middleton Clayton was born in Dagsboro, Delaware in 1796, the nephew of Governor Joshua Clayton and the cousin of US Senator Thomas Clayton. He became a lawyer in 1819, and he served in the state legislature before serving in the US Senate from 1829 to 1836, when he succeeded his cousin as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. He returned to the Senate in 1845, but he resigned in 1849 to serve as Secretary of State under Presidents Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. From 1853 to 1856, he served in the Senate one last time, and he died in office.